Truth And Illusion
by XxXxDarkVampirexXxX
Summary: Eugene Davis was killed by a hit and dump, where his body was thrown into a lake. But, was that REALLY what happened? Naru found out by accident because of his psychometry skill. But what if Gene didn't die that way? What if, he was actually murdered? And the object Naru touched had been planted there to hide the REAL truth from the Davis family...?
1. Chapter 1

**Yo…well, here's yet another GH fic…I seem to get the most ideas for this for some reason…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any of its characters…I only own the characters I've added myself…**

Eugene Davis was killed by a hit and dump, where his body was thrown into a lake. But, was that REALLY what happened? Naru found out by accident because of his psychometry skill. But what if Gene didn't die that way? What if, he was actually murdered? And the object Naru touched had been placed there to hide the real truth from the Davis family...?**  
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Seventeen year old Mai Taniyama walked into SPR's office, feeling rather angry. She had just been dumped by her boyfriend because he had seen her with Naru the other day and thought she was cheating on him. She had told Daichi, who was her senpai, that Naru aka. Kazuya was her boss, and that he had come to meet her to question her about something she had done on their previous case...but the bastard just wouldn't listen. He had ended it and moved on to another girl only minutes after. Mai had seen them making out as she was leaving the school. And what made Mai angrier, was that Daichi's new girlfriend was one of those slutty girls that she hated. Today wasn't a good day for Mai and she hoped with all her heart that Naru wouldn't mess it up even more.

"Mai, you're late! Tea!"

Mai said nothing, just dropped her bag with a thump and made her way in the kitchen area. She made the tea and went to give Lin's his first...like she usually did. She entered after knocking.

"Lin-san, tea," she mumbled, handing him the cup.

He took it from her, eyeing her curiously. "Is everything alright, Mai-san?"

"Things are peachy," said the girl sarcastically. "Other than the fact that I was just dumped..."

"I see...I'm sorry," said Lin, hoping that would suffice.

And he thought it did, for Mai gave him a faint smile before leaving his office and going over to Naru's, once again knocking first.

"Come in."

Mai entered and approached her eighteen year old boss's desk. She placed the cup down and immediately turned away, not even waiting for that never arriving thank you, muttering under her breath, hardly realizing that Naru could most likely hear her.

"Tch...son of a bitch...can't believe he dumped me for that slut...shallow jerkass...she can have him...I should never have said yes to him...bastard..."

She slammed Naru's door behind her, leaving him in surprise, anger, confusion and jealousy.

_Mai was just dumped? What the hell? Wait...Mai had a boyfriend? How come I didn't know this? Did she say he dumped her for...a slut..? Why would anyone do that? Why didn't she tell me she was dating someone? How long were they together for? What did they do together? Did they...did she...?_

Naru was hit with a bolt of jealously when images of Mai with a young man resembling Yasuhara for some reason, made their way into his mind. Just how intimate did Mai get with this guy?

The girl on the other hand, sank down on a couch in the lounge and leaned back, releasing a breath. She had only begun dating after deciding that Naru was an idiot was never going to notice her. Her first two relationships hadn't really lasted that long, but at least she had been the one to end them. Daichi had been her third boyfriend and if she was being honest...she really had liked him. Mai couldn't lie to herself though, she was still too hooked onto Naru. She had tried and failed to distract herself from him...other than today, that is. What she really needed right now though, was a distraction from Daichi and her anger.

The main door opened with the bell jingling above it. Two men walked in, accompanied by a little girl of about five. Mai smiled. This was perfect. She got to her feet.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Is your boss in?" asked the older of the two men in a gruff, but slightly unkind voice. "We have a request and we want to speak to him."

"I see," said Mai. "Yes, he's here, but I'm not sure if he'll be able to see you right now... Let me just ask him."

The men nodded and took the seats Mai indicated, the younger man pulled the little girl onto his lap. The brown haired teen headed over to Naru's office and knocked on the door.

"Naru," she said, sticking her head in. "There are some people here to see you."

Naru looked up and nodded. "Alright, make some tea."

"Hai..."

A few minutes later, after Mai had made and handed out the tea, she sat on one of the couches, between Naru and Lin. As usual, Lin had his laptop open and ready to use. The clients were seated on the couch opposite them.

"I'm Kazuya Shibuya," said Naru. "My assistant said you had a request?"

The older of the two brown haired men, who looked about 28, stared at Naru in surprise. "You...?"

"Yes, me. If you have something to say, please say it. I'd rather not have my time wasted."

Mai gave a soft, inaudible sigh. He was doing it again.

"Nii-san...cut it out," said the younger man, who had a much kinder voice. He too had brown hair, but it was a shade lighter, and he looked as if he were at least 24 years old. "Just tell them why we're here."

"Tch...fine." He looked back at Naru. "My name's Ryuuga Kato," he began. "This is my brother Taki and my daughter Miki." He paused. "I'm saying this right now, to get it out of the way. I don't believe in this whole paranormal, ghost shit. My kid's scared of whatever the hell's going on, and now I have no choice."

"If you don't believe in it, then why don't you have your daughter or Taki-san here explain the situation instead of you?" said Naru coldly.

"Bastard," muttered Ryuuga. "Taki, talk. I'll be outside having a smoke." And before anyone could say anything, he got up and left.

Taki sighed looking weary. "I'm sorry about that," he said.

Naru didn't say anything, he was still glaring at the door. Mai on the other hand, said that it was alright and that perhaps Taki should be the one to tell them what was going on. The man gave a nod, and had Miki get off his lap to sit next to him instead. Running his fingers through his hair, he began to speak.

"Well, we have four people living in our home," he began. "Nii-san, Miki, our younger brother and myself. About a year ago, Miki was four and she began telling us about these strange things she had been seeing."

"What did she see?" asked Naru, as Lin began typing.

Taki thought back for a moment. "She was saying how there was a boy in her room, who was always scaring her...and how another boy was always kind to her."

"So there were two spirits, then?"

"I suppose so," said Taki. "But that's basically how it started out. After a while, Miki began to get injuries..."

"She was getting hurt?" Mai said in surprise.

The man nodded. "Small scratches and bruises at first...up until she nearly drowned."

Mai let out a gasp and even Naru and Lin looked a little alarmed.

"What happened?"

"My younger brother was giving her a bath. He left the bathroom for a second...and when he came back, she was under the water," explained Taki.

"Are you positive that she didn't do that herself?" questioned the black haired teen. "As an accident, obviously."

"I'm sure," said Taki darkly. "She had a dark bruise in the shape of a hand on her back afterwards."

There was a silence except for Lin's typing.

"Is Miki-chan the only one to experience things?" asked Mai a moment later.

Taki shook his head. "No...my sister in-law began experiencing things a little while after, and so did I."

"Wait, I thought you said your brothers and Miki were the only ones who live in the house with you?"

"They are," said Taki with a nod. "My sister in-law...Naoko-oneesan...she's dead."

Mai let out a gasp. "Oh! I'm so sorry..."

Taki gave her a small smile.

"And what happened to you two?" asked Naru.

"Nee-san came to me one night, after putting Miki to bed, saying how she had felt so...uncomfortable in her daughter's room," the man explained. "It was strange because she had been in there plenty of times before and had never said anything like that. She had felt as if she were being watched all the time after that. And it was never in a good way. She said she constantly felt as if something were about to attack her. Sometime after she had told me all this, I began to experience things myself. It's gotten to a point where being alone in a room is incredibly frightening."

Taki stopped talking and Naru sat there thinking. He could tell that the man hadn't told them everything yet, but that only made him more curious. If he was being honest, this case DID seem quite interesting to him. And...well, the little girl was terrified, wasn't she? Naru knew Mai would skin him alive if he said no.

"We'll accept your case," he said after a moment. "Please make sure to have some rooms set up for us to use and leave your address and phone number with my assistant here." He nodded towards Mai.

"Of course," said Taki getting to him feet. "I appreciate this, thank you."

He shook hands with both Naru and Lin and then had Miki follow him to the door that Mai was leading them to. On the way out, the older girl jotted down the information Naru had requested and told the man that they would most likely be there the following morning. Taki agreed with this and shook Mai's hand as well, thanking her too. He then took his niece's small hand into his own and the two walked out of the building. Miki glanced over her shoulder and waved at Mai who responded the same way.

Mai headed back to her desk and was about to sit down, when a call for tea met her ears.

"Hai..."

Naru may not have changed, but at least they had a case. That meant a distraction for Mai. She no longer had to think about Daichi and would easily be able to forget him while putting her life in danger. She didn't have to see his, what she now realized was, a horribly disfigured and hideous face...right?

**And that's it for now...I don't think all the chapters will be this long, but I'll try my best...Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yo…here's the next chapter…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any of its characters…**

_"Mai...?"_

_Said girl opened her eyes, finding herself in the Astral Plane. A black haired boy was standing over her. He extended a hand, helping Mai to her feet._

_"Hi Gene!" Mai exclaimed, hugging him as usual._

_After breaking apart however, she realized something was wrong. Gene wasn't smiling, something he never failed to do in her presence. Mai opened her mouth to speak, but Gene cut her off before she could actually say anything._

_"Tell Noll to decline this case," he said._

_Mai blinked in surprise. "What...? Why...?"_

_Gene looked as if he were in pain. "Just...do it..."_

_"But...Naru already accepted it," said Mai, still puzzled. "We're starting in the morning."_

_"Shit..."_

_Gene cursing only confused Mai more. The dead boy NEVER swore...unlike Naru, who did...sometimes._

_"Mai...is there any way to not do this case?" questioned Gene._

_The brown haired girl shook her head._

_"Like I said, Naru's already set everything up... Gene, what's going on? Why are you saying this?"_

_"I...I can't say...but maybe...in time..."_

_Before Mai could question any further, everything began fading away and she knew it was time for her to wake up._

Mai sat up slowly just as her alarm began ringing. She turned it off, but didn't get out of bed just yet. She stayed there, thinking for quite a while. She just...didn't understand what Gene was saying...WHY he was saying such things.

After another few minutes, Mai realized that they were supposed to start the case that morning and that she had to go to the office to meet up with the others. She was late.

Half an hour later, she was seated in SPR's van with Naru and Lin, while Bou-san, Ayako and John were trailing behind in the monk's car.

Masako wasn't able to come because she was off in another country for a television show.

Mai knew Naru was going to question her on why she was late, so she decided to take the initiative and beat him to it.

"Naru, I had a dream last night."

Her boss turned around to look at her.

"You did?"

"Yeah, Gene was...really hesitant about this case," said the girl.

"He was?" said Naru in confusion.

Mai nodded and recounted her dream. Once she had finished, the teen leaned back against his seat, thinking.

"Why do you think he was saying all that?" asked Mai.

Naru didn't answer and she huffed in annoyance. Why did he always have to do that? Was it really THAT hard to answer her?

Lin stopped the van up in front of a rather large home. The location wasn't that far away, so it didn't take very long to get there. Bou-san's car pulled up behind them and they all got out of their vehicles, most of them staring at the house.

"Damn, this place is big," said Bou-san.

"You're telling me," said Mai with a laugh.

Despite her saying this, she couldn't help but think she was going to see something she wasn't going to like soon... Not only this, but as she looked up at the house, the girl was hit with a blast of fear. She shivered involuntarily.

This, she didn't like. Why was she feeling that? The case wasn't going to be that bad...right?

**That's it for now…Sorry, I know its short…Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yo…I was gonna say something…but I just lost my train of thought when I looked at the tv and saw the Assassin's Creed 3 trailer…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any of its characters…I only own the others and the story…**

Naru, Lin and Mai headed towards the house, while Bou-san, John and Ayako began to unload the van. One of them knocked on the door, which was opened by Taki.

"Ah, hello there," he said with a smile. "Right on time."

He stepped back, allowing the three to step inside the home. He then directed them to the large living room, where two others were standing. One of them was Miki and the other was what looked like a teenage boy.

"You already know my niece," said Taki, gesturing towards the girl. "And next to her is my younger brother, Daichi."

Upon hearing his name, Daichi turned around to look at them. He glanced at Lin, then Naru and then Mai. He smirked when he spotted the girl. Mai's jaw dropped, she couldn't believe it. Daichi couldn't be here...he couldn't. Daichi stepped forward to introduce himself and shook hands with both Naru and Lin. Mai backed away when he approached her.

"Don't touch me," she muttered in a voice so low that her ex was the only one who heard.

The boy smirked once more; he was really going to enjoy this.

Ryuuga suddenly walked into the room along with Bou-san, Ayako and John, who had already placed all the equipment in the base. The older man had directed them to it. He glanced around at the other three from SPR and scowled slightly. He couldn't believe he was wasting his precious money on something as stupid as 'ghosts'.

"Nii-san, are you leaving for work now?" asked Taki politely.

"Obviously. I just came to tell you that I hope you have dinner ready for me when I come home."

"O-of course, nii-san. What did you want to eat today?"

"Doesn't matter," replied Ryuuga gruffly. "Just make sure there's some meat."

Miki ran over to her father and tried to hug him, but he pushed her away.

"I don't have time for this, I'm late."

He walked off and Miki lowered her head. Mai, who didn't like seeing the sad look on the little girl's face, approached her, kneeling down in front of her.

"It's alright Miki-chan," she said. "You can hug me instead! Much better than the grumpy old man."

Miki smiled along with Taki and hugged Mai rather tighter than the older girl had expected. There was something about this hug that made Mai a little emotional. She actually teared up a little.

Being the observant young man that he was, Naru noticed this, but said nothing about it. Instead, he said, "Taki-san, do you not work?"

"Ah, I work from home," replied the man. "Nii-san goes out to work and Daichi's still in school, and with nee-san dead, there's no one to watch over Miki..."

Naru gave a nod of understanding. "I wanted to speak to you all, regarding any other activity that may have happened here," he said. "Is that possible?"

Taki glanced at Daichi. "Is it alright if you're late for school?"

Daichi shrugged. "Yeah, it doesn't really matter. I don't mind if I stay home till they solve whatever's going on here."

"That could take more than a week, Daichi-san," said Naru.

"It's fine, I don't mind," said Daichi, glancing over at Mai.

_Please tell him to go to school, Naru!_ Mai thought desperately.

The young boss however, did the opposite of that.

"Alright then," said Naru. "If it doesn't matter that you miss a week or so of school, then it would be best for you to stay here."

Daichi gave a nod and Mai dropped her head, depressed.

_Dammit Naru! You tell me to go to school all the time! Why are you encouraging this?_

"Mai, stay with me," commanded Naru. "The rest of you, set up the base."

They all nodded and headed out, leaving Naru and Mai alone in the living room with Taki, Daichi and Miki Kato. Mai knew that Naru really only trusted Lin with setting up the equipment, since he was the only one other than him who knew what everything did...probably.

The five sat down and Naru began to ask some questions, trying to clarify what Taki had told them the day before and whether or not Daichi had experienced anything.

While this was happening, Mai noticed the strange look Miki was giving Naru. It was a mingled look of curiosity, surprise, confusion and happiness. Mai realized none of the others noticed this and wondered why the little girl was looking at her crush in such a way. Had she...seen him before or something...? No, that wasn't possible though...or was it...?

**That's all for now...Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yo…it took me a little while, but here you go…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any of its characters…**

"Mai, base, now."

Taki had taken Miki out of the room to help her get changed, leaving Naru, Mai and Daichi. Not wanting to remain alone with her ex-boyfriend, the girl didn't argue and followed her boss to their current base.

Everyone was already sitting there, waiting for Naru to tell them what was going on and what he wanted them to do. Mai went and sat down between Bou-san and John, while Naru went over to Lin. The two of them spoke for a moment and then Naru began to write something down. Once he had finished that, he turned around to face them all.

"Matsuzaki-san, I want you and John to do a walkthrough of the property."

Said two nodded and immediately left the base, the miko mumbling faintly.

"Bou-san, Mai, I want the two of you to begin setting the equipment up around the house. Miki-chan's room, the bathroom, the downstairs hallway where the cuts and bruises occur, the kitchen where Naoko-san was attacked before she died, and the staircase where Taki-san was pushed down the stairs. ...I've written it all down," he added, noticing the look on the faces of the monk and girl.

The two of them gave nods and gathered some equipment into their arms, along with the paper where Naru had written everything down. They then left the base and headed for the end of the hallway, which was closest to them. Knowing they'd have to make another round to the base to pick up more equipment, they worked quickly, but not without their jokes.

They covered the hallway, kitchen and the bottom of the stairs. After that, they gathered more stuff from the base and headed up stairs. There, they covered the top of the staircase, since Naru wanted full coverage of the area. Next was the bathroom, which Mai was hesitant about. It was the only bathroom after all! But then again, only Lin would be seeing the footage, so that wasn't so bad. It's not like he was a pervert or anything.

Bou-san and Mai then made their way over to Miki's room, knocking before entering. The little girl was sitting on her bed with Taki next to her. She seemed to be writing something, but stopped and looked up when the two entered.

"Ah, Takigawa-san, Mai-chan...is there something I can do for you?" asked the brown haired man.

"We're just here to set up some equipment," replied Mai. "Since things have been happening in here and all."

"I see... Well, go right ahead."

The monk set down the camera and he and Mai worked out the best angle, one that covered most of the room. They finished, thanked Taki and were about to leave the room, when Mai felt a tug on the back of her shirt. She turned around in surprise, only to see Miki standing there. Mai got down on her knees.

"Hey, Miki-chan...what's wrong?"

Miki handed something to Mai. The older girl looked down at the paper in her hand, clearly covered in Miki's handwriting, which was awfully good for a five year old.

_'Why does Naru-niisan look like Gene-niisan?'_

Mai read this and then blinked. How did Miki know about Gene? She probably heard one of them call Naru Naru, so that made sense...but speaking about Gene or anything Davis related was only done when they were all alone. They didn't speak about such things in public, because they didn't want anyone to know. So...how did this little girl know?

The brown haired girl wasn't exactly sure how to respond.

"Well, they're twins," she replied. "Do you know what that means?"

Miki shook her head.

"It means they were born at the same time," explained Mai. "So they look exactly the same."

Miki gave a nod of understanding.

"How do you know about Gene?" asked Mai, now getting Bou-san's attention as well.

Miki took the paper back from Mai and wrote something else, before handing it back to her.

Mai took it in confusion, wondering why the girl was communicating by writing instead of speaking, but read what was written nonetheless.

_'Gene-niisan comes to protect me sometimes. He's really nice and whenever he comes, the scary man goes away.'_

Bou-san looked down at the paper too and after reading it, he and Mai exchanged a glance.

_Gene comes here to protect Miki-chan...?_

Despite her confusion, Mai smiled at Miki, trying to hide how she really felt.

"Well, Gene's a really nice guy," she replied. "I'm glad he's helping you."

Miki smiled again, happy to hear that.

"Did Gene come here recently?"

The little girl nodded.

"Yesterday?"

She shook her head.

"Two days ago?"

Another shake.

"Umm, three days ago?"

A nod.

"I see...well, you don't need to be scared of Gene, he'd never hurt anyone. But if you see him or the 'scary man' again, come tell me, okay?" said Mai.

Miki nodded and hugged Mai, before going back to her bed.

"Taki-san, why is Miki-chan not speaking?" questioned Bou-san in confusion.

Taki gave a small, sad smile and he stroked his niece's hair.

"Miki cannot speak," he said. "She will never be able to..."

"...What...?"

"I'm...sorry to hear that."

"It's quite alright."

Miki looked down, feeling sad, but Mai smiled.

"Well there's nothing wrong with that," she said. "Miki-chan may not be able to speak, but that doesn't change the fact that she's really smart. She's still going to become a beautiful young lady when she gets older."

Taki, Miki and Bou-san all smiled.

"Thank you."

**That's all for now…Yeah, I blanked out...again...Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Yo…I know it's short, but here's the next chapter…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any of its characters…just my own…**

Mai and Bou-san had only just returned to the base, when Naru called for tea.

"Hai..."

The girl left the room and headed to the kitchen entrance, which she had passed by earlier. She entered and stopped dead. Daichi was standing at the fridge.

_Dammit! Noooo! Why does he have to be here! _

Daichi looked round and Mai knew she was trapped. She couldn't run away, he had already seen her. Plus, there was no way she could go back to the base without tea. Naru would kill her.

"Mai," said Daichi with a smirk.

"Senpai," said Mai with a scowl.

"Aww, you're calling me senpai now? What happened to you calling me by my name?"

"You're older than me," said Mai, "I can't just call you by your name."

Daichi's smirk turned into an unsettling grin.

"You had no problem calling me by name during those moments we shared together."

Mai blushed slightly as certain memories rushed through her mind, but she forced herself to focus.

"Whatever. Where do you keep the tea?"

"Tea?"

"Yeah, my boss wants some."

"Ah, the guy you were cheating on me with."

"I wasn't cheating on you. He came to me to lecture me about the mistake I made on our last case, okay?"

"It didn't look that way to me."

"Well go talk to him if you want, I'm done with you. Just tell me where the damn tea is."

"In the cupboard above the stove," said Taki, entering the kitchen.

The two teens looked at him.

"Daichi, I think you should go now..."

"Fine." He walked out of the kitchen, but clapped a hand to Mai's shoulder first. "I'll see you later, Mai..."

Once he had left, Mai let out a breath. She was pissed off again.

"Um, thank you Taki-san," she said, grabbing a box from the cupboard the man had mentioned.

"It's nothing..."

Mai began making the tea and Taki watched her for a moment, before beginning to speak.

"Mai-chan?"

"Yes?"

"Are you the girl Daichi was dating until yesterday?"

"Oh...yeah."

"I see..."

The kettle sounded and Mai quickly turned the stove off.

"Well, I need to get back," she said a couple of minutes later.

She thanked Taki once more, before leaving the room with a tray loaded in cups. Entering the base, she handed the tea out and as she made her way to the chair Naru had been sitting in earlier, she noticed that it was empty.

Naru was no longer in the room.

"Where's Naru?" she questioned curiously.

The others in the room glanced around at each other and even Lin looked over.

"He was here a minute ago..."

"I wonder where he went..."

_Please don't tell me he's talking to Daichi! I can't let him find out we dated!_

Naru suddenly walked in, a scowl on his face.

"Mai."

The girl looked up at him hesitantly.

"Yes...?"

**That's it for now…Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Yo…I'm sorry this took so long…but if you've been reading my other fics, then you know this is pretty normal…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any of its characters…**

The boy stared down at her for a moment, silence ringing through the room. The others watched curiously, wondering what Naru was going to say. He looked so serious.

His head slightly cocked to the side and he opened his mouth to speak, but before he could make a sound, a quiet alarm went off, signaling something strange had just been caught on tape. Lin immediately turned back to the monitors and after a moment, Naru did too.

Mai gave a sigh of relief and sank down on one of the couches, next to Bou-san.

_I wonder what he was going to say..._

Naru gave a grumble of annoyance, gaining everyone's attention.

"Just a draft..." he muttered.

It seemed a draft had streamed through an open window in the hallway, changing the temperature and causing the thermal camera to go off, signaling the change.

Suddenly remembering something, Mai called out to her boss, who looked over at her.

"What?"

Ignoring the snappiness, she said, "Do you remember the good spirit Miki-chan sees in her room?"

Naru gave a nod and Bou-san, who had been with Mai when they had found out the following, also looked over.

"Well, that good spirit is Gene."

Naru did a double take.

"What...?"

The others in the room also looked over in surprise.

"Gene?"

"Yeah," said Mai with a nod. "See?"

She handed Naru the paper Miki had written on and the black haired teen glanced down at it, reading what was written. Confusion began showing on his normally expressionless face.

_What was Gene doing here...?_

Not taking his eyes off the paper, Naru said, "Does Miki-chan know who the dark spirit is?"

"No, she doesn't. Oh, but I told her to let us know if Gene or the bad spirit come back," replied Mai.

"Good," said Naru approvingly. "...Where's the tea?"

"Ah! Sorry! Here..."

Mai handed her boss his tea and he took a sip, giving an absentminded nod.

_So this dark entity that Miki-chan sees is most likely causing all the bad activity here_, thought Naru, sipping his tea. _And the reason there's breaks between the activity, is because Gene comes and gets the evil spirit to leave... However, it seems as if it comes back, once it knows Gene won't be around. Who is this dark spirit? And why is Gene constantly coming here in the first place? What attachment could he possibly have with this place? _

Though Naru didn't know it yet, Gene didn't have an attachment to the _home_ they were investigating, but one with two of its occupants.

"Mai."

"Hai?"

"Come with me, I want to talk to you," said Naru, once he had finished his tea.

"Umm...alright..."

And the two left the base together, heading to the still empty living room. Naru stood with his back to the entrance, looking down at his female assistant. A silence enveloped them.

"What's wrong?" asked Mai after a moment.

"Yesterday...when you were giving me tea, you were mumbling under your breath," said Naru.

"Was I?"

"Yes."

"So? What about it?" said Mai, hoping she hadn't mentioned Daichi.

"You were saying that you had just been...dumped."

"Oh...yeah...and?

Naru just stood there, staring down at her thoughtfully.

"What?" demanded Mai impatiently. She had been in the middle of an important conversation when her boss had called her out and she was anxious to go back and complete it.

"Why...didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend?"

Mai blinked in surprise. "...What?" The girl suddenly caught sight of Daichi, standing at the entrance of the living room, watching the scene before him. _Dammit!_ "What does it even matter?" questioned Mai firmly."

"Why did you...break up?" asked Naru hesitantly, wondering if Mai would answer that.

She was surprised to hear him ask that, but responded nonetheless. "He thought I was cheating on him...with you."

Now it was Naru's turn to blink in surprise. "And...?"

"And what?" asked Mai in confusion. Keeping her eyes on Daichi, who was smirking, she said, "You're my boss and I told him that, but he's a jerk ass and he didn't listen, so he dumped me. Simple as that." She paused and looked back at Naru. "Anything else?"

"Why did he think we were together?" asked Naru innocently.

Mai then explained about how Daichi had seen them together and what had taken place after. While she spoke, Naru just stood there listening.

"I don't care anymore though," said Mai. "He's a loser."

"Despite what you may think, Mai," said Naru after a pause, "you don't deserve to be treated like that."

The black haired teen was actually pretty angry after hearing this. Mai deserved better. Much better. He couldn't believe someone had done something like that to her.

"Naru..." Mai was more shocked than ever, because she had never heard him speak like this before, but then she smiled. "Thank you, Naru."

As she looked back over at the entrance, Mai noticed that Daichi's smirk had turned into a look of disbelief.

"Naru-bou?"

Naru turned to look at the entrance as well, only to see Bou-san standing there with a surprised looking Daichi. It seemed Mai's senpai hadn't expected the monk to show up so suddenly and had jumped in surprise.

"Yes?"

"Lin-san wants you back at the base," replied Bou-san. "He says one of the cameras caught something and he wants you to see it."

Naru gave a nod and he, Mai and Bou-san all went back to the base together.

"See you later senpai," smiled Mai sweetly as she passed Daichi.

**And that's all I got for now…Naru's a little ooc, isn't he? Anyway, looking forward to reviews! Laterz!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Yo…here's the next chapter…short as usual…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any of its characters…just my own…**

Entering the base, Naru immediately went over to Lin at the monitors and Mai took up her seat between Bou-san and John, continuing on with her previous conversation.

"That's interesting," said Naru a couple of minutes later.

The rest of the team looked over at their boss, whose fingers had risen to his chin, indicating that he was now lost in thought.

"What is it?" questioned Mai curiously.

"Lin."

The Chinese man gave a nod and beckoned the others over. Once they were there, he pressed a few keys and pointed at one of the monitors. The camera pointed at the staircase seemed to have captured something. There was a wispy, dark figure pacing up and down the stairs. It went up, then down, then back up and was half-way down when it vanished.

"Okay... Why is it doing that?" wondered Ayako.

There was a moment's silence as no one spoke, but then, Naru lowered his hand and sank into a chair.

"Perhaps it was planning on doing something and then changed its mind,' he said. "I see no other reason for a spirit to pace."

And that was it. He fell silent once more, ignoring everyone's confused looks and questions.

"Mai. Tea," he demanded abruptly, fifteen minutes of solid silence later.

Mai jumped in surprise, he had been so quiet she had forgotten her boss was even in the room. However, she hurriedly scrambled to her feet and left the room, with Bou-san following behind her. They did not wish to leave their conversation half completed again.

The two entered the kitchen, chatting happily and Mai began making tea. As the water boiled, Daichi entered the kitchen once more. The monk immediately noticed the way his young friend stiffened and he moved closer to her.

"Jou-chan?"

Mai looked at him. "Yes?"

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Excuse me," said Daichi, coming closer to Mai. "I just need to get something from there."

And not even letting the girl move, he leaned in until he was just a breath away from her. Reaching over her head to the cupboard behind her, he opened it and began to speak to her in a whisper.

"What is it, Mai? Don't like being this close to me anymore?"

Mai didn't trust herself to respond, so she simply stood there silently, refusing to both speak and move...as if she could in the first place. When Daichi pulled away, he was smirking once again. Noticing her discomfort, Bou-san took hold of Mai's hand and pulled her toward himself and away from the teen. Daichi's smirk turned into a sneer and he then left the kitchen with this hideous look on his face. The monk followed his departure with his narrowed brown eyes. He had realized that there was something wrong.

Releasing Mai's hand, he turned to her just as the kettle went off.

"Mai?" he said as she continued making tea.

"Yeah?"

"How do you know Daichi?" he asked. It wasn't exactly a question.

The girl froze and then with a long sigh, began moving once more.

"He's my ex-boyfriend," she replied with a moment.

"Your...boyfriend...?"

"Ex-boyfriend, _ex_," Mai emphasized. "He dumped me yesterday."

"What? Why?"

After another pause, the girl began to explain what had happened. Once she had finished Bou-san was pretty angry.

"What the fuck kind of reason is that!"

"I know," said Mai grimly. "I tried to explain to him, but..."

"Son of a bitch... And here I was trying to be nice to him. Though...I did notice something weird about him just now."

"Huh? You did?"

"Obviously. The way he was acting around you just now was strange." And suddenly, he smiled. "You'd better make sure Naru-bou doesn't find out about him or else he'll kill the kid."

"You're probably right," said Mai seriously.

And then the two began to laugh hysterically.

"Well, anyway," said Bou-san, when they began heading back to the base. "Daichi's a moron to not have realized the mistake he made. ...Do you want me to hurt him?" he added.

"No, no, that's alright. I'll take care of him myself one day. I'm just gonna wait until he least expects it."

"Uh oh."

"Hahaha...but thanks, Bou-san."

The monk smiled and ruffled the girl's hair. "Anytime Mai, anytime."

**And that's all for this week...And yes, before you ask, Mai _will_ be getting her revenge on Daichi eventually...Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Yo…don't you guys hate math, I hate math…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any of its characters…**

Mai and Bou-san returned to the base a minute later, the girl's arms laden with a tea tray. The first person she went to was her boss, who looked as if he hadn't moved since she had left. Naru took the cup silently and began to drink. Mai didn't even bother waiting for a thank you, since she knew she was never going to get it. Instead, she handed tea out to the others as well. At least _they_ seemed to appreciate it.

Night soon approached and the team headed off to their assigned rooms to sleep. They had been given two rooms, a guest room and Taki's room. The man was staying in Miki's room while they were investigating and the little girl was too scared to sleep alone anyway. Because of this, Naru, Lin, Bou-san and John all had to stay in one room. There was only one bed, which made a slight problem, but Taki had given them two futons to set up on the floor. Naru and Lin had taken these, while the monk and the priest were forced to share the bed. Mai and Ayako were staying in Taki's room, both of them sleeping on the bed. Since there were only two females, it was rather easy for them to figure things out.

Mai lay there next to Ayako, who was sound asleep. She didn't know why _she_ couldn't sleep. Mai was tired, yes, but despite that, she couldn't get her brain to shut down enough to relax. Biting her lip, she hesitated for a moment, before finally deciding on what to do.

Making sure she didn't wake the miko up, Mai carefully slid out of bed and quietly padded across the room to ease the door open. She then slipped out the room, softly closing the door behind her. Mai stood in the hallway for a minute and then began heading towards the base. She thought that everyone would be asleep in bed and was therefore surprised when she saw Naru sitting in front of the monitors in the base.

Hearing a clicking sound, Naru looked round and saw Mai standing there staring at him.

"What are you doing here, Mai?" he asked.

He watched her walk across the room towards him, bare feet soundless on the carpet.

"I couldn't sleep," she replied, once she had sat down next to him.

Naru couldn't say anything, he was feeling rather uncomfortable as Mai was simply wearing an overlarge t-shirt that only went just past her thighs, which was giving him a rather lovely view of her long, smooth, pale legs.

"So, what're you doing here all by yourself in the middle of the night?" asked Mai.

Naru merely spared her a glance, not trusting himself to fully look. His hands were already aching to run down those soft legs of hers.

"I have work to do, Mai," he finally said, falling for the look on her face.

"Work? Now?"

"Yes."

"I always knew you were a workaholic," sighed Mai.

The young man ignored said comment and instead, typed something on the keyboard, causing one of the monitors to focus on Miki's room, where she and Taki were asleep on the bed. He intently stared at the screen, causing Mai to think something was going on there and look as well. And to both their surprise, something _did_ occur.

A dark figure formed at the foot of the bed. It slowly glided over to the side where Miki was and it stood there. Mai and Naru stared at this in confusion, waiting to see what it would do and if they'd need to wake up Bou-san or something. The figure reached out for Miki, taking hold of her arm, waking said girl up and causing her to begin to cry. Mai jumped up and ran out of the room immediately.

"Mai! Tch...damn!"

**And that's all. I know it's short, but I do love cliffhangers…Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Yo…well, here we go…I apologize for the shortness…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any of its characters…**

Naru got to his feet and headed over to Miki's room where Mai had undoubtedly run off to.

When the young man reached the little girl's room, he saw Mai seated on the bed with Taki and Miki. The figure was gone and Miki was quietly sobbing, tears streaming down her face. Mai was holding her on her lap, while the older man was trying to examine his niece's arm in the gloom. Naru turned on the light and approached the bed.

Now that the light was on, everyone was able to see the dark, hand shaped bruise on the thin arm of the small girl. Both Taki and Naru scowled at this while Mai gasped. It seemed as if it was also rather painful, considering how hard Miki was crying...though, that could've been because she was terrified too.

"Mai," said Naru suddenly and rather sharply.

Mai looked at him as he knelt down in front of the bed and took hold of her arm, the one that was stroking Miki's hair.

"What, Naru?" she questioned, annoyed with his odd behaviour.

"You're hurt," he said.

Mai and Taki looked down at Mai's arm and saw a dark hand shaped bruise, exactly the same as the child's. Mai's eyes widened.

"Oh," she said.

" 'Oh'," Naru repeated. "Oh? Why did you run off like that!"

"Calm down, Naru," said Mai, slightly shocked by his reaction.

"Calm down," he repeated darkly. He wasn't even sure why he was feeling so angry that Mai had gotten hurt, but he hated it, he despised when she was injured.

"Naru," said Mai calmly. "We need to focus on Miki-chan."

The young man took a deep breath, stalling himself. Mai was looking at him curiously, as if wondering what was wrong with him, but she quickly returned her gaze to the bruised arm of the little girl in her lap.

"She'll need to get some ice on that," instructed Naru. "Before it swells up too much."

Taki gave a nod. "Will the two of you remain here with her?"

"Of course!"

As Taki left the room, Miki clutched onto Mai tightly, terrified.

"It's alright, Miki-chan," said Mai softly. "I'm right here...nothing can hurt you right now."

Naru was rather surprised with how gentle Mai's voice was. He had never heard her speak in such a way before. Taki returned moments later with two packs of ice. He handed one to Naru and brought Miki onto his lap, pressing the other to his niece's arm. Naru yanked Mai down onto his own lap, rather roughly, causing her to gasp and blush. When he placed the ice pack on the bruise, she gasped again.

"Ow!"

"Tch, and _how _did you not _feel_ this before?" questioned Naru. "And stop moving around!"

Mai had been wriggling around on his lap and that was not exactly a good thing, considering who she was and what was...under her.

Fifteen minutes later, Mai and her boss returned to the base, while Taki and Miki tried to fall back to sleep. Mai sank down on the couch in the lit room and let out a sigh, and closed her eyes. She was tired, but still wasn't able to sleep. She felt the couch droop beside her and knew that Naru had sat down next to her.

"...Mai."

Mai didn't look at him, but voiced that she was listening. "Hm?" But when Naru didn't respond, she glanced over at him. "Naru? What is it?" She blinked in surprise when his head hit her lap. It seemed he'd fallen asleep. "Wow, I didn't think that was possible."

Smiling slightly, she leaned back on the couch, straightening her boss out in the process, but leaving his head on her lap. Bringing her fingers into his soft black hair, she began to gently stroke.

_It's good that he's asleep_, she thought tiredly. _He needs the rest..._

Unconsciously, Mai's breathing slowed to match Naru's and she began to drift off as well, for once, enjoying the still silence that enveloped them. But what Mai didn't realize, was that she and Naru weren't as alone as they thought they were...

**And that's it for now…Three guesses as to who else is in the room. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Yo, I know it's been like bloody forever, but my writer's block got a million times worse and I literally couldn't think of _anything_ to write. So in the past month or whenever the last update was, I thought of this…**

**Ps: Thank you to everyone who had alerted, faved, reviewed, read this story. Thought I'd mention it since it's the tenth chapter. Love you guyz!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any of its characters…**

Eugene Davis stood or rather, hovered in front of the couch where his twin brother was sleeping on the lap of his young assistant. The very same assistant he denied having feelings for. That idiot scientist wouldn't see love even if it danced in front of him naked. It was so obvious that Mai liked Noll, and she wasn't exactly attempting to hide it. Noll was so oblivious though, that he didn't seem to notice and thought that his feelings were one sided. But Gene had to admit, Mai had changed his brother quite a bit. People who didn't know him that well wouldn't notice, but being his twin brother, even if he was dead, Gene was able to see even the slightest change.

Naru shifted slightly in his sleep and looked as if he were trying to snuggle into Mai's lap. Gene smiled and stepped forward, but stopped abruptly and looked up at the ceiling in surprise. Giving Naru and Mai one last look, he floated up through the roof and a moment later the door to the base opened.

Walking into the room, Lin stopped dead at the sight before him. He cocked his head to the side and then smiled slightly. So they were finally attempting to make a move on one another, were they? That was good. Noll needed someone like Mai in his life. It would be good for him. And she needed to be more than an assistant too. Not wanting to wake the two up, Lin quietly made his way to the monitors and sat down. He turned all the screens on, realizing that if the teens were asleep with the lights on, they wouldn't notice these extra lights. Glancing over his shoulder, the Chinese man made sure they were still asleep, before continuing with his work. Yes it was late, but being the insomniac that he was, he was unable to sleep.

Noticing Naru had tagged something on one of the tapes, he decided to take a look. It was the footage of what had happened in Miki's room earlier. Lin watched this carefully, trying to see if anything had been captured on film, smirking at when Naru pulled Mai onto his lap. And to his surprise, something had, indeed, been captured. Or, more like someONE. Gene.

Lin's eyes widened in surprise when he saw Gene standing off to the side. The expression on his face was a mix of worry, as he looked at Miki, and amusement, as he looked at Naru and Mai. Eugene wasn't solid, but transparent and it didn't seem as if anyone had seen him. _Why_ was _Gene _here though? The Chinese man found himself wondering the same thing as his young boss. Was there a reason? He knew the boy hadn't moved on yet, but why would he be in such a place?

A minute or so later, Lin noticed something else. There was someone else in the room with Taki, Miki, Naru, Mai and Gene. But this wasn't an ordinary person...not that Gene was one. It was a dark figure, just standing off in a corner. It seemed to simply be watching the scene unfold before it, but wasn't attempting to make itself known. What it _was_ doing though, was grinning. This was quite unsettling for Lin. The figure was so dark, blank eyes...but its grin stood out like a sore thumb. You could clearly see those shiny, white, pointed teeth...or perhaps fangs would be a better word. Lin felt a chill settle around him as the figure vanished from view.

Swiveling around in his chair, the man let his gaze rest on Naru and Mai. After seeing the footage, Lin was now unsure as to whether or not it was safe to leave the two of them alone and unprotected. That figure had been a very disturbing sight and if _that_ was what Miki was seeing, he understood why the girl was so terrified. But according to Mai, Miki had said that Gene would come to protect her, that he would scare the dark entity away...but...how much power did Gene have? How much longer would Eugene be able to help the small girl?

However, protecting Miki wasn't the only problem now. Mai had been attacked too. For now it was just a bruise on her arm, exactly the same as Miki, but would that escalate to something worse? It was definitely possible. And that meant that this dark spirit, the one Lin had seen in the footage, had not only hut Miki, but Mai as well and would most likely continue to hurt the two of them in the near future. Now Mai would need to be protected too. And Lin knew exactly who was going to want to protect her. Noll. The black haired boy was obviously going to remain close to Mai once he had the chance to check the footage and come to the same conclusion that he had. But then...who would protect Noll? That was obvious too. He, Lin, would need to do that. Noll had powers that he could use, yes, but it wasn't safe for him to do so, not with the risk they presented...

When Bou-san walked into the room yawning, Lin nearly jumped. He had been so lost in thought, that he hadn't noticed the time. Glancing over, he realized that it was already past eight. Looking at the monk, Lin saw him staring at Naru and Mai, both of whom were still fast asleep and completely oblivious to the world around them. Bou-san stood frozen for a moment, but then he grinned.

"Nice," he said in a whisper. "Glad to see they're getting along."

Lin merely nodded, but could not hold back the small smirk that appeared on his face. He knew that both he and Bou-san were thinking the same thing. Turning back around to face the screens, he said, "Takigawa-san, I'm sure the two of them will awaken by feeling your stare burning holes into their skulls."

Bou-san laughed. "I didn't know you had a sense of humour, Lin-san," replied the monk plopping down onto a chair and yawing once more.

Lin ignored the other man's comment. "Have the others woken up yet?" He knew Naru would despise being the last one up, not to mention having everyone seeing him in such a...state. Technically meaning, he wouldn't want the others to see him sleeping on his assistant's lap.

"Ayako's in the shower and John's getting dressed," replied Bou-san stretching.

Lin nodded and got to his feet, suppressing the urge to yawn and stretch himself. He approached the couch where Naru and Mai were asleep and even though he knew they had only been asleep for a few hours, began to gently wake them up. It was with slight amusement that he watched the two of them begin to stir. They both looked around in bemusement and then looked at one another. Then they moved away from one another so quickly that it looked as if they had been burned. Bou-san openly laughed at the two, making both of them blush slightly. Naru scowled and Mai looked as if she wanted to simply disappear.

"What time is it?" questioned Naru?

"Half past eight," replied the Chinese man.

John walked into the room at that moment and gave a sigh of relief. "Mai-san, you're already here? Matsuzaki-san was worried because you were not in the room when she woke up."

"Oh," said Mai, regaining her senses. "I'll apologize to her in a bi-"

"Mai!" came a sudden cry.

Ayako had just entered the room and she hurried over to Mai and flung her arms around her. "God, you can't just vanish like that! Do you know how scared I got when I woke up and you weren't there!?"

"I'm sorry," amended Mai. "But there was a bit of an incident last night and I guess I ended up falling asleep in here after."

"An incident?" repeated Bou-san and John in unison.

"Yeah," said Mai with a nod. "But I guess Naru will tell you guys about it later...if he feels like it."

Four of six laughed, one smirked and the last scowled.

Everyone unanimously decided to have to food before they began to discuss the events that took place the previous night and that was exactly what they did. Mai was in the kitchen with John, when Daichi walked in.

"Damn," cursed Mai under her breath.

John looked over at her curiously. "Mai-san?"

"Oh, sorry John..."

"Hey John...Mai," greeted Daichi, opening the fridge.

"Hello," replied John like the polite young man that he was.

"Senpai," said Mai curtly, refusing to say much more than that.

"Aw, come on Mai, how many times have I told you to call me by my name?"

"Far too many than necessary," replied Mai in a surprisingly cold voice. "Now if you'll excuse us, the team's waiting for their breakfast." She grabbed hold of the tray and walked to the kitchen's exit with her head held high, defiance clear in her stance.

Saying goodbye to Daichi, John followed somewhat confused to what was going on. Bou-san was the only one in the group who knew that Mai and Daichi had dated, but the priest was smart enough to notice that there was definitely _something _going on between the two. Unsure as to whether he ought to voice said suspicion, John simply decided to remain silent and continue to observe.

Mai and John made it back to the base without encountering anyone else, though Mai figured both Taki and Miki would still be in bed after what had taken place last night. Daichi they had just seen and as for Ryuuga, well, he had probably already left or was getting ready to leave.

"Breakfast!" sang Mai entering the room.

"Yes! Food!" exclaimed Bou-san.

"Damn, relax Bou-san, it's just food," said Mai in faint surprise.

"Yeah, exactly," said the monk seriously.

Mai laughed and set down the tray. "Help yourselves," she stated.

And that was exactly what they all did. Mai and John had made foods that they knew everyone ate, that way, no one would be forced to eat something they didn't like.

"So, what's this incident that you guys were talking about?" asked Ayako curiously as she sipped her coffee.

"Well..."

Deciding Mai was going to take too long to explain, Naru intervened before the girl had even really gotten started. She glared at him, but didn't say anything, which Naru was quite glad for.

"So that's what happened, huh?" said Bou-san, putting his empty mug down.

Yeah," said Mai, leaning back in seat after placing her plate back onto the tray.

"Let me see that bruise," requested Ayako, her doctor mode kicking in.

Mai held out her arm, where the hand shaped bruise had darkened. The miko stared at it for a moment, before getting to her feet and approaching. She took Mai's arm and turned it this way and that, assessing the damage.

"...And you say that Miki-chan has that same bruise?"

"Un."

"...I'm surprised neither of you have broken arms right now, then," declared Ayako. She went back to her seat and decided to finish up her toast.

Mai blinked. "W-what do you mean?"

"I mean that there was an incredible amount of force used for this," explained the red haired woman. "I've never seen bruises quite that bad. In fact, bones usually break before they can get that bad. I can understand for Mai, since she _is_ older, but for someone as young as Miki-chan, who has barely had the chance to strengthen her bones properly..." She trailed off.

After a moment's shocked silence, Lin spoke up. "Naru, you tagged the events from last night?"

"I did, yes. Did you review it yet?"

"There's something you need to see," replied Lin, answering the question indirectly.

Naru gave a nod. "Mai, tea."

"...What? But you _just _had tea!"

"Mai."

"...Hai, hai."

Mai got to her feet and began to leave the room, when Lin's voice stopped her.

"Takigawa-san."

Bou-san immediately understood what the Omnyouji was trying to say, so he got to his feet and followed Mai out the door, grabbing the tray with the empty dishes on his way. The two of them walked over to the kitchen, Mai grumbling and Bou-san yawning. Naru meanwhile, approached Lin and the monitors, wondering what exactly had been captured...

**And yeah…that's all I got. I know it's not the best way to end a chapter, but I couldn't think of anything else. Thanks' for not giving up on me! Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Yo, sorry, I know it's been a while.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any of its characters, or Captain Underpants… I'll be using something from that, so I just thought I'd say it...**

Naru was seated in an armchair, lost in thought. He had just finished viewing the footage from the previous night and was actually quite surprised by what had been captured. _That_ had been in the same room as them? _Who_ was that? _What_ was that? He understood why they hadn't _seen_ it, but had Mai _sensed_ it? No doubt she had been...distracted at the time, what with that bruise on her arm, not to mention she had been seated on his lap then too. But if she had been thinking straight, completely focused, would she have sensed it? He'd have to ask her when she returned with the tea.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Mai and Bou-san were talking, waiting for the water to boil.

"What happened next?" asked the monk.

"She punched him," replied Mai with a laugh.

Bou-san laughed too. "That's craz-oh, hey, Daichi-kun."

Mai froze and the cheerful smile on her face disappeared faster than you could say 'yectofantriplutoniczansiptom iser.' _How did Daichi _always_ appear where she was?_

"Morning, Takigawa-san, Mai. I see you guys finished breakfast. What, hungry already?" said the teen mockingly.

Mai held back an annoyed grumble. "My boss wants tea," she replied coolly.

"Is that what you're paid for? To make him tea? Wow, it must suck to not be wanted for anything other than that." He gave a rather cruel laugh, but cut short when Taki walked into the room, accompanied by Miki. "See you later." And he was gone.

Bou-san glanced over at Mai and saw that she was shaking with suppressed rage. It was either that or she was cold, but he opted for the first, considering she was standing next to a hot stove. Taki and Miki hadn't noticed anything, since both still seemed to be half asleep. Wishing the two of them a good morning, Mai completed the tea and immediately left the kitchen.

As soon as Mai and the monk walked into the base, Naru immediately noticed that his young assistant wasn't in a good mood. He accepted the tea she gave him, and watched as she slumped down on the couch, releasing a deep sigh as she did so.

"Mai."

"Hmm?" she voiced, but didn't look up.

"I have a question," said Naru.

"What?" Still, she didn't look at him.

Slightly annoyed, he asked nonetheless. "Last night, when you and Miki were both attacked, did you feel anything while we were in that room?"

"I'm pretty sure you know how I felt." This too, was said without her looking at him.

"Take away all those other feelings," said Naru, feeling rather irritated now, "and focus on what's left. What do you feel?"

Mai didn't answer for a while. She sat there in silence, thinking. For a moment, Naru thought she wasn't going to answer him at all, but suddenly...

"Gene was there," said Mai, "watching. And...there was something else there too...something...dark..." She finally looked up. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Naru gave a nod. "That's _exactly_ what I wanted to hear. Come here." And when Mai had finally approached him, he showed her what had been caught on the camera the previous night. Glancing over, Naru saw that Mai seemed rather surprised with this sight.

"I was right...?" she said, disbelievingly. She frowned and focused on the dark entity in the corner. "That must be the 'bad man' that Miki-chan was talking about. Jerk looks happy that we're hurt."

"Well, he is probably the one that did the hurting in the first place," Naru reminded her.

"Right, right. But...I still don't get why Gene's here, in _this_ house," said Mai, still frowning.

"Did you have any other dreams yet?"

The girl shook her head in the negative. "Nothing."

Naru sighed inwardly. So far, Mai had only had one dream, and they only thing Gene had said in the dream, was for them to not come on this case. Even that made no sense. Why would Gene say something like that? Why would he not want them to investigate?

"Lin," he said suddenly.

"Yes?" voiced the Chinese man, looking over.

"I want you to do some research on this house," said Naru. "Yasuhara-san's ill at the moment, and will be unable to help us." He paused. "I'll keep and eye on the monitors."

Lin nodded once and got to his feet. Once he had left the house, the others exchanged odd looks. Wasn't Naru the one who always did the research when Yasuhara wasn't around? Why send Lin out now? They glanced over at Naru, who was now seated in the seat Lin had vacated, staring at the monitors with a very serious look on his face. ...What was going on?

Since Naru hadn't given them anything else to do, they just sat there talking, and waiting. They were waiting for Naru to suddenly begin yelling at them to get serious, or demand for some tea...but he did neither. During the next hour, he didn't say anything at all, hell, he barely even moved. Now that the team was done with their conversation, they all turned to look at Naru once more. Normally, he'd make some snide comment about that, but still, nothing.

Now they were worried. Was Naru sick or something?

After another half hour, Mai tentatively approached him with a cup of fresh tea. Surprisingly, he didn't react.

"Ano...Naru?" Mai reached out to touch his arm.

Naru, not expecting this, actually jumped slightly. Luckily, the way Mai was standing, no one else saw this. "Mai?"

"I brought you tea." She handed it to him and watched him sip gratefully. "Are you alright...?"

"Yes, yes, I'm alright," said Naru, taking another sip.

_He doesn't sound alright..._ Taking advantage of the fact that no one could see them properly from the angle she was standing at, Mai extended her hand and gently ran her fingers through Naru's soft hair. "Naru, you know you can tell me if there's something wrong, right?"

Naru looked rather surprised at first, but his expression softened after a moment. He reached up into his hair and took Mai's hand. "Mai..." He sighed. "What can I possibly say to you?"

"Naru?" Mai was feeling quite confused, and her boss' odd behaviour wasn't helping. _He looks kinda tired... _"Naru, I think you should go take a nap. You look like your about to pass out."

"No, I don't need sleep. I'm fine."

Mai frowned and worry crept into her big brown eyes. There was definitely something wrong, but what that was, she didn't know. Naru had been fine earlier, so why was he suddenly acting so strange? He didn't look possessed or anything, so what was going on?

There was a knock on the door and Taki stepped in.

"Mai-chan?"

Mai looked round. "Yes?"

"Do you mind watching Miki for me for a while? I need to go out, and Daichi's...gone somewhere as well. I can't bring her with me, either."

"It's alright," replied Mai. "I don't mind at all." She looked over at her boss. "Is it okay for me to head upstairs for a bit, Naru?"

Absently, Naru nodded. "Take someone with you," was all he said.

John stood up. "I'll go with you."

"Okay..." Mai and John headed to the door, and before she walked out, the girl glanced over her shoulder at Naru, only to see that he now had his head in his hands. _Naru..._

**That's all I've got for now. Sorry, I know. Don't ask what's wrong with Naru, cause I've got no idea yet. I'll figure it out eventually… And no, as I'm sure you already know, Naru and Mai aren't a couple yet, either. All will be explained in the next chapter...whenever that'll come up...Thanks for all the faves, reviews, alerts, follows and stuff. By the way yectofantriplutoniczanziptom iser is supposed to be one word. Dunno why it won't stay that way. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Yo. Well, what do you know? I'm back, and it only took more than a year and a half. I've actually had this chapter written up since last December, but for whatever reason, didn't think it ended at an appropriate point. I only just realized that it actually does, so here it is. You may want to read previous chapters to brush up on what's going on. I'm the one who wrote it, and even _I_ couldn't remember what was happening.**

**I'm really sorry about how long this took, and hopefully that'll never happen again. Thanks to all readers so far, and an extra thanks to anyone who reviewed. I'm also sorry about the super long AN.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any of its characters...**

Still confused, Mai left the base and headed up the stairs with John. Both walked in silence for a moment, not knowing that they were thinking about the same thing. Though John hadn't been able to see Naru, even he had realized that the boss was behaving a little oddly.

"John?"

"Mai?"

The two exchanged bemused glances, having spoken at the same time. With a little laugh, the priest allowed Mai to speak first.

"Did you notice how...weird Naru was acting?"

"I did, yes," replied John, surprised that Mai had even mentioned this. He had suspected that she would have kept it to herself, as she always did when something was troubling her.

The girl hesitated. "Do you think he's possessed?"

"No," said the priest immediately, following Mai down the hallway off the top of the stairs. "I wasn't getting that feeling from him, that...vibe. He was completely his own, just...preoccupied."

Mai frowned. "But-" She had no choice but to trail off as they reached Miki's bedroom.

Knocking on the door, they entered, and saw the little girl seated on her bed flipping through a picture book. She gave them a greeting in the form of a wide smile, and silently invited them to join her on the bed. And while John read to her in that gentle voice of his, Mai sat there completely lost in thought, only half listening to the children's story that was being read aloud.

There was something very odd going on in this home. First they found out that Gene was here, protecting a little girl from a dark entity, and now Naru was beginning to behave strangely. John said he wasn't possessed, but then what was wrong with him? It was just...bizarre.

So lost in her thoughts, Mai didn't even realize John had stopped reading. She didn't notice the way both he and Miki were staring into a shadowy corner of the room. She didn't see the dark figure standing there. She didn't take any of this in until both the priest and the child finally managed to get her attention.

Mai looked over, and saw what the others were seeing. The shadow-like figure was there. A single glance at it showed that it was the same thing as before. The same entity they had captured on film earlier. The same entity that had harmed both her and Miki by grabbing them so hard, dark bruises had been left on their arms. The same entity with those creepy, sharp, white fangs.

The dark entity leered at them, and they stared back. Then, without warning, it began moving towards them. It wasn't exactly walking, more...gliding. Miki, terrified at the sight before her, curled up close to Mai, who held her tightly. John, quickly regaining his senses, began with the prayers, trying to get this...thing away from them the only way he knew how.

It wasn't enough. He refused to stop. He was not going to stop. He knew that if he did, Mai and Miki were both at risk. He kept going, but it wasn't working, it wasn't enough. This thing kept approaching them, slowly, almost insolently. Mai wondered whether she should do anything to help, but she couldn't. Not when Miki was clutching onto her so tightly that it was nearly cutting off her circulation.

"Namanku sanbanda bazaradan kan!" Bou-san bolted into the room, hands together, a fierce look on his face. He saw the figure twitch, but continue to move towards the bed. He chanted again, and again, and again, until finally, the entity changed course and decided to come for him instead.

Taking that as his cue, John began to pray once more, and after carefully adjusting the little girl, Mai joined in with the Alcala and the Nine Words that she'd been taught. Now there were three people in the room, chanting and praying, and it still took far longer than it should have, for the dark entity to finally, _finally_ vanish.

As soon as it was gone, everyone collapsed, feeling spent after having used so much of their energy. Yet Mai reached over and hugged the crying Miki close. "It's alright," she said softly. "He's gone for now. You'll be fine, Miki-chan."

Bou-san forced himself to his feet. "C'mon, let's get out of here guys. Mai, bring the kid with you. I'm not leaving you here alone with her, John or not." This didn't mean that he didn't trust the priest, but he hadn't been able to keep the spirit at bay by himself, and with that child, no one wanted to take any risks.

With John being who he was, he aided Mai to her feet, who took Miki's hand, and together, the four of them left the child's room and headed down the stairs to the base, where Naru, Lin, and Ayako were waiting.

"What happened?" questioned Naru immediately, not even waiting for them to sit down. He got rather annoyed when no one answered him right away. He watched, waiting impatiently as they all sat down, watched as Mai brought Miki onto her lap. The little girl didn't seem to want to let go of his assistant. She seemed very scared.

Slowly, John began to explain what had happened in the room earlier. When it got to a certain point, Bou-san joined in on the explanation, but Mai remained silent the entire time. She just sat there, holding onto the child, who was still clutching onto her far too tightly for it to even be remotely comfortable.

"It _attacked _you?" said Naru, his voice clearly demanding an answer.

"That's not the main point, Naru-bou," interrupted Bou-san, something he didn't often do.

"Then what _is_ the main point?" demanded the teen, clearly not pleased.

"The point is how long it took for us to get rid of that damn thing. There were _three_ of us there. Spiritual power considered or not, there were _three_ of us. Why the fu- why did it take that long to get rid of it?" As angry as he was, he was unwilling to curse in front of the child.

Naru fell silent for a moment, considering what the monk had just said. The camera had ceased to work when the entity had appeared, and he had been about to run up himself, when Lin, who had returned out of nowhere, had held him back and instructed Bou-san to go up instead. Because of the camera, they hadn't been able to see what was happening. But it had taken them far longer to return to the base than he had expected.

"Lin, check the footage of the room. I want to see what happens before we lose signal with the camera."

The Chinese man said nothing, merely nodded once, before swivelling around in his chair to face the monitors. Face betraying nothing, he hit a few keys before silently beckoning Naru over.

You could see the small group on the bed. John was reading, Miki listening, and Mai was clearly zoning out. Nothing seemed abnormal in the slightest.

"Freeze image!" said Naru suddenly. "Go back to .25 seconds and play back, half speed."

Lin did so and a frown appeared on the young boss' face. Everyone else crowded around, all wanting to see, but they were unable to make out what it was that Naru was looking at. The expression on his face was serious, but he didn't say a word, and neither did Lin.

**And that's it for this chapter. I'm sorry to say this, but I'm totally stuck with this fic at the moment, though that could be because I haven't thought about it in nearly two years. Anyway, I'm completely open to any suggestions you guys may have, so lay em on me! As always, dunno when the next chapter'll be up. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!**


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